title: Epidemiology of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia at a tertiary university hospital in Oman.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is known about the incidence and burden of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (CIN) in Oman or the Arabian Gulf.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the epidemiology of CIN at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital in Oman.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective observational study of all eligible CIN episodes in adult (>18 years) patients with solid tumors and hematological malignancies at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) from January to December 2010. Analyses were performed using univariate statistics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 1,357 episodes in 159 patients with a mean age of 50 ± 15 years (19-91) were evaluated. Fifty-four percent (n = 86) of the patients were female. A total of 46 % (73/159) of the patients developed CIN accounting for 15 % (210/1,357) of all episodes. Twelve percent (25/210) of these CIN episodes were associated with fever in 26 % (19/73) patients. There was significant association between CIN and chemotherapy regimen (P < 0.001), younger age (P < 0.001), low hemoglobin (Hb) levels (P < 0.001) and advanced cancer stage (P = 0.006).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests a high incidence of CIN in SQUH patients which resulted in chemotherapy delays, longer hospital stays, and inpatient mortality. CIN was significantly correlated with chemotherapy regimen, younger age, low Hb levels and cancer stage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
authors.forename: Maram
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abou Saleh
authors.forename: Rose Ngozi
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Mafiana
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al Za'abi
authors.forename: Ragini
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vaishnav
authors.forename: Salam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Al Kindi
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Al-Zakwani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009850:Oman / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D006454:Hemoglobins